Wednesday, October 6, 2010

This dish might not be anything too pretty to look at but, oh man, was it ever good!
Pork Chile Verde is one of Matt's favorite things to order when back in California & eating at a taqueria. We'd never made it at home until Matt suggested we add it to the menu this week. Our's was not exactly like the ones he gets there with shredded pork but flavor-wise he thought it was pretty darn close.

The bright green sauce has a zing of heat from the jalapenos but its not too spicy (it was mild enough for me) so if you like things hot, add some hot sauce or throw in a hotter pepper. The pork steak got very tender from the braising in just an hour. If you can't find pork steak use another fatty cut of pork such as shoulder. This sauce would also be tasty with chicken. Just writing about it is making me crave it again...

In a large skillet with a lid heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the pork & sear until brown on all sides. Remove from pan & set aside.

Add the tomatillos, onions, garlic, jalapenos, poblanos, cilantro & worcestershire to the pan. Cook until everything is softening & the tomatillos are releasing their juices. Add the pork back to the pan. Stir in the water. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat & simmer until the pork is tender about 1 hour.

Remove the pork from the pot. Put everything else into a blender & purée until smooth. Put back in pan with the pork. If you want the sauce a little thicker let it simmer with the top off until it thickens, we let ours simmer for 15 more minutes. If the sauce is thick enough just heat through.

Serve over rice or in a taco. I liked mine with some sour cream on it.

18 comments:

Looks delicious! Lately I have been running across recipes asking for tomatillos that look so good. Though with all the green tomatoes in my garden right now I wonder if green tomatoes are a substitute you would suggest?

This sounds delicious! I've cooked chicken in a similar sauce and it's always turned out to be quite tasty. You should try roasting your tomatillos, peppers, and garlic (still in the paper) until blackened - Rick Bayless does that and it adds a nice smoky dimension to the sauce.

This sounds so good! I don't mean to be crude, but I wonder what would happen if you just threw all the ingredients into the crock pot with a pork roast. Do you think it would break down enough without the purée step?